Thud, thud, thud. The sound of wooden heeled clogs approaching your office again. Knock, knock, knock. Your assistant wants to inquire about a client file… again. Recently, you started cringing and holding your breath every time you heard those clogs approaching. Could she really need me again? Does she have a question worth answering this time? Does she think I don’t work? How do I make it STOP!?…
You may have experienced those painful thoughts before. Many business owners enter seemingly great working relationships with assistants who over time, become less of an asset and more of an annoyance. You may have had similar thoughts today. You might have been happy with him last month but now you’re wondering if it’s going to work out. What had gone wrong? Why in just a few short weeks are you now ready to throw in the towel?
The truth is you may have simply outgrown your assistant. What was once a fruitful working relationship turned sour. Whose fault is it? You might blame your assistant for the impending breakup but if she were asked she might reply, “Nothing has changed. It’s always been like this.” In the end, it doesn’t matter who is at fault. Casting blame has never improved this scenario.
For a small business owner it can be difficult to handle these circumstances. You can’t just pass it off to Human Resources and request them to intervene or ask one of your directors to take care of it. At the end of the day, it will be you and your assistant sitting across the table face-to-face when you fire him. Because you don’t look forward to that uncomfortable situation and may even dread it, you might find yourself in limbo over the decision to let your assistant go for way too long. That is a dangerous place to be in for you and your business.
Having a competent assistant who works well with you is essential to your productivity. She should be capable of purposefully aligning her work performance with your goals. He should also complement your strengths and weaknesses so you can maximize the time you spend in your “productive zone of genius.”
The investment you have placed in your assistant is enormous. You have invested your valuable time, money, and energy in her, making the idea of starting over with a new person seem like too much to handle. Instead of playing the blame game or continuing to agonize over the decision whether to keep or fire your assistant which will cost you time and money due to lost productivity, you need to come up with a resolution.
First, determine if the problems you are having with your assistant are personality-based or skill-based. If the are skill-based, often times communicating clear expectations and additional training can remedy the issue.
Communicating Clear Expectations To Your Assistant
You must be crystal-clear with your expectations, both before you hire your assistant and throughout your working relationship. As your needs change and you grow both personally and professionally you will develop different expectations for your assistant. That is common. Unfortunately, business owners often forget to relay new expectations to their assistants. Your assistant is NOT a mind reader. You must be clear and detailed about what you want from them and articulate that information with real-time feedback on their progress.
Continuing Your Assistant’s Education
As a professional, you are constantly improving yourself, learning more about your industry, and strategizing how to grow your business. A great way to ensure you don’t outgrow your assistant is to invest in his continuous training as well. That investment increases your assistant’s ability to meet your ever-growing needs. There are numerous resources available for assistant training. Office Dynamics is one of many companies that offer both online and live training specifically designed for assistants. Training programs exist for hard skills such as computer programs and soft skills such as mastering exceptional self-leadership.
If you identify that the source of the problem is personality-based, often times the issues you are having with your assistant are not fixable. By clearly communicating expectations, however, you may be able to resolve your issues. Choose this route first so you can have a chance at not losing the investment you already put into your assistant. Do you want him to act more enthusiastic about your projects? Do you wish she would not come in a minute late and leave a minute early every day? Should he put more effort into his appearance? Should she sound happier answering the phone? Whether your issues are skill-based or personality-based, it is important to voice your expectations which may effectively resolve your dissatisfaction with your assistant.
Decision Time
If you exhaust your efforts and simply cannot improve your working relationship with your assistant, it is no longer beneficial to you or your business to keep him. Upon that conclusion, it is time to terminate employment. Firing is one of the most difficult decisions a business owner has to make. Don’t allow yourself to be in limbo over the decision for months on end. Working in a state of uncertainty negatively affects your personal productivity as well as the office’s productivity. The longer you wait to give the boot for fear of the unknown, the more damage you do to your business and most likely, you will not regret your decision.
To fire or not to fire? is a loaded question but an important one to answer when the tension with your assistant heats up. After all, you have to work side by side with her day in and day out, witnessing all of her personality quirks and lack of abilities. If you don’t see a vast improvement in your working relationship after clearly communicating your expectations and providing additional training, it’s time for a breakup. Take action soon or your productivity and your business will continue to suffer.
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